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Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illness through research DIVISION OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Principal Investigators Carolyn Beebe Smith, Ph.D.   Dr. Smith is Chief of the Section on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism of the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.Dr. Smith received a Ph.D. from the University of London where she studied the chemical pathology of Alzheimer's Disease with David Bowen, for which she was awarded the Queen Square Prize. She did postdoctoral training with Louis Sokoloff at NIMH and in 1986 became a Senior Investigator within the Laboratory of Cerebral Metabolism, NIMH. In 2000 Dr. Smith was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Linköping for her work developing an in vivo quantitative autoradiographic method for regional rates of cerebral protein synthesis in experimental animals. Research Interests Dr Smith's group is currently studying the mechanisms underlying brain dysfunction in genetic mouse models of inherited forms of mental retardation. Dr. Smith is a neurochemist with a long-standing interest in plasticity in the central nervous system, both developmental and involutional. She has studied normal aging and development, and the effects of peripheral lesions on the CNS. Dr. Smith has developed a quantitative autoradiographic method for the in vivo measurement of rates of cerebral protein synthesis for these studies. Studies with this method indicate that changes in regional protein synthesis may underlie functional reorganization in the CNS. One of the goals of current work in Dr. Smith's laboratory is the adaptation of the method for use in man with Positron Emission Tomography. Representative Selected Recent Publications: Mei Qin, Julia Kang, and Carolyn Beebe Smith:. Increased rates of cerebral glucose metabolism in a mouse model of fragile X mental retardation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.,USA 99:15758-15763, 2002. Smith, C.B. and Kang, J.: Cerebral protein synthesis in a genetic mouse model of phenylketonuria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:11014-11019, 2000. Koehler-Stec, E.M., Li, K., Maher, F., Vannucci, S.J., Smith, C. B., and Simpson, I.: Cerebral glucose utilization and glucose transporter expression: response to water deprivation and restoration. J. Cerebr. Blood Flow and Metab., 20:192-200, 2000. Frerichs, K.U., Smith, C.B., Brenner, M., DeGracia, D.J., Krause, G.S., Marrone, L., Dever, T.E., and Hallenbeck, J.M.: Suppression of protein synthesis in brain during hibernation involves inhibition of protein initiation and elongation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 95:14511-14516, 1998. Nakanishi, H., Sun, Y., Nakamura, R., Mori, K., Ito, M., Suda, S., Namba, H., Storch, F., Dang, T., Mendelson, W., Mishkin, M., Kennedy, C., Gillin, J.C., Smith, C. Beebe, and Sokoloff, L.: Cerebral protein synthesis rates are positively correlated with slow wave sleep. Eur. J. Neurosci., 9: 271-279, 1997. Melzer, P. and Smith, C. Beebe: Whisker follicle removal affects somatotopy and innervation of other follicles in adult mice. Cerebral Cortex, 5: 301-306, 1995. Sun, Y., Deibler, G.E., Jehle, Macedonia, J. Dumont, I., Dang, T. and Smith, C. Beebe:: Rates of local cerebral protein synthesis in the rat during normal postnatal development. Am. J. Physiol., 268: R549-R561, 1995. Address:   Phone:   Email Dr. Beebe Smith Fax:   Lab Web Site: http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/snpm/     Principal Investigators Scientists & Clinicians DIRP Labs and Branches DIRP Research Areas Staff Scientists/Clinicians Office of the Scientific Director Site Map Participate in Research Contact Us Careers in Research What’s New Functional MRI Core Magnetic Resonance Core Magnetoencephalography Core Microarray Core Non-Human Primate Core Scientific and Statistical Computing Core Transgenic Core Veterinary Medicine Resources (Staff only) Office of the Scientific Director Office of the Clinical Director Office of Fellowship Training Office of Technology Transfer Administrative Services Branch Administrative Services

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The Division of Intramural Research Programs is within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is a part the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.